Building construction.



E. A C. HOGE.

. BUILDING CONSTRUCTION. APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1915.

1,171,400. Paf enlted Feb.8,1916.'

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

- E. A. C. HOGE. BUILDING cowsmucnom. APPLICATION FILED MAY 3. 1915.

i Patented Feb. 8, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET?- U A O THE COLUMBIA PLANGGRAPH co; WAS HINGTON, D. C.

UNITED 'ME a e EDWARD A. 0. EDGE, or E MHURST, NEW 0312,- ASSIGNOR TOKEYSTONE rrnnraoorme COMPANY, or NEW YORK, N. -Y., A CORPORATION orDELAWARE- BUILDING c'oNsTn oTIo v.

ToaZZ whom it may concern. 1 V i Be it known that I, EDWARD A. C. HoeE,a-citizen of the United States, and residing at Elmhurst, Long Island,in the county.

of Queens and State of New York, have invented a new and ImprovedBuilding Construction, of which the following specification is a fulldisclosure.

This invention deals with. an improved method of erecting the floorstructures of buildings and it also proposes a novel and improvedconstruction affording pronounced structural advantages over thoseheretofore lIl use.

A primary object is to create a roof or floor structure distinguished byan evenly distributed load-bearing capacity and in which the weightbetween the girders will: be carried essentially by tension elementscombined with a number of compression elements disposed to relieve theoutermost girders of accumulated lateral strains and combined also witha filler or matrix of.

light-weight plastic material Various other ob ectsand advantages will.be in part obviousfrom the annexed draw-' ings and in part indicated inconnection therewith by the following analysis of this invention. I 1

Thi invention accordinglyconsi'sts in the features of construction, ofthe end-bay and in the relative proportioning and disposi-.

tion thereof and in the unique relations of the specially constructedend-bays with re-' spect to the conventionally constructed middle bays,all as more completely outlined herein.

To enable others skilled in the art so fully to comprehend theunderlying features thereof that they may embody the same by thenumerous modifications in structure and relation contemplated by thisinvention,- drawings depicting a preferred form of. my proposedstructure have been annexed as a a portion of a building constructed inac- Fig. 2;is-a: longitudinal section parallel with the sus-- cordancewith this invention.

pension cables, andv Fig. 3 is a section of an end bay of a floorembodying this-invert tion.

Specification of Letters Patent.

In erecting a buildingin accordance with this invention, a plurality ofpurlins or floorbeams 1, 2, 3, etc.,-are suitably mounted on their endsby thewalls'or the outer framework of the building. These beams orgirders will preferably be formed of rolled steel in the form of'I-beams or channelg beams; and they will be ranged in parallelismandspaced apart in accordance with the load to be sustained. The beams 1and 2 constitute the side members of what is known as the end-bay of'abuilding; the beam 1 representing in this instance the outermost elementdirectly receiving the supporting strains, andthebeam 2 being the onenext inward in the series. The beams 2 and 3 form an intermediate bay,and it is in combination with a two-element system for one or more ofthe intermediate bay spans." That is to say, it proposes a strut, atension-cable and a cast-matrix extending from the outermostbeam 1 tothe adjacent beam 2, all in combination with-a tension cable and acastmatrix between the beams of an adjacent intermediate bay; all forthe purpose of effecting a better distribution of the horizontallydirected strains. 7 The preferred method of erecting this structurecomprises the step (A) of inter-' posing between the beams of anend-bay, a series. of spaced strut-members forming compression elementswhich prevent the outer beam from being deflected inwardly by bracing itlaterally against the next in nermost beam; the step (B) of laying a j IPatented Feb 8, 1916.

Application filed May 3, 1915. Serial IQ 0. 25,389. i

plurality of corrugated, roughened orpat- V means of loads sufficient tobring them under normal strains; and then the step (D) of incasing theseelements and filling in the intervening spaces with a compositionadapted to be cast or molded in place and capable of entering into anon-slipping union with the tension-strands to form a roof or floor. Thevarious details of the preferred mode of carrying out this erection maynow be described.

. To facilitate the carrying out of the final step (C), it is desirableat the outset to assemble a cradle or mold in underlying rela-' tionwith the girders 1, 2, 3, etc. so that the composition, while liquid,may be poured into place to embed the girders and other elements andthen set into hard permanent shape. This cradle mold may veryconveniently be built up as shown by the drawings, by suspending aseries of main joists 6 from the girders by means of joist-hangers 7formed of steel rods or wire passing underneath the joists and over thegirders as shown. A sofiit-board 8 extends transversely to and restsupon the joists 6; each soflit-board being positioned to underlie thelower flange of its respective beam and to extend parallel therewith toform the bottom surface of the composition embedding the beam. On eachside of each girder is a haunch-board 9 which bears edgewise against thesofiit-b-oard so that its side extends upwardly either vertically or atan angle, to form the sides of the molded beam incasing the girder.Extending between the haunch-boards of each span, are a series of beans10 which are for the purpose of laterally supporting the haunch-boardsand upon which may be laid the sheathing boards 11, 12, etc., upon whichthe composition is poured. These beams 10 may in turn be suspended bycleats 13 fastened to the haunch-boards or resting upon the joists 6 asmay be desired. It will be understood that this structure is a temporaryscaffolding. in the nature of a mold-cradle which is assembledpreparatory to casting the body portion of the floor, and this cradle isremoved as soon' as the floor-filling has sufficiently set, and it alsoserves the purpose of forming an anchorage for drawing taut the tensioncables, as will now be described.

The design of this floor construction is such that the weight isessentially carried by certain tension-members in the nature ofstretched strands and, although a filling composition which takes apermanent set is used, this composition is not depended upon forweight-carrying purposes so much as for giving shape, body and stiffnessto the structure as a whole. These tension-elements are formed ofstrands; certain or all of which are suitably secured to the outermostgirder 1, preferably by means of suitable hooks attached to the upperfianges as galvanized steel wires.

shown. These strands then pass successively over the various othergirders to a point of attachment to one or the other of the more remotegirders of the series. These tension elements are preferably in thenature of cables composed of fairly heavy twisted This twisted form isvery advantageous in that it forms a cheap and inexpensive manner ofobtaining a tension-element which is corrugated or configurated in sucha 'way that it will interlock with the material cast around it, therebypreventing any slipping from taking place between the tensioned cablesand the filling after the latter has set. This makes greatly for a solidand secure structure with well distributed strains. These twisted wirecables 14 are spaced apart at appropriate intervals and a deflection rod15 is then laid upon the cables at the middle point of each bay or spanand this deflection rod is then drawn downwardly so as to impose more orless normal strains on the cables 1 1. A convenient and satisfactorymanner of bearing down on this deflection rod is to pass a steel wire 16around the beam 10 and to bring its upper ends around the deflection rod15 and twist the loose ends together until a sufficient downward pullhas be'en'exerted on the deflection rod 15. By this arrangement, anidentical load is placed on the suspension cables at each bay and eachof the intermediate girders will carry an equal downward load but,inasmuch as the ends of the strands are ultimately secured to theoutermost girders, this gives rise to a tendency for the outermostgirders to be deflected inwardly, but this load is also equalized anddistributed by means of this invention which contemplates theutilization of a local series 'of strut elements between the girders ofthe end-bay and in certain instances between the girders of the adjacentbay also, but not between the girders of the intermediate bays. Theselocal strut-members may be formed of iron-pipes 17 placed initiallybetween the girders 1 and 2, preferably closely adjacent the upper edgemargins thereof, and preferably wedged therebetween either by being cutto exact length or more conveniently by utilizing a wedge-block 18 atone end thereof which is driven in place by means of a hammer. Thesestrut-members will be proportioned and spaced so as to carry the lateraldeflecting loads imposed in the first instance on the girder 1 under thepull of the cables (which load will amount to a maximum of about 160pounds per cable in many instances of construction) and to transmit amaterial proportion of the load to one or more of the adjacentintermediate girders. By combining these true compression elements withthe true tension elements above noted, a well reinforced structure willbe to cover the tops of the girders and after it has been set the cradlemay be removed by cutting the wires 7 and 16 and trimming olf loose endsthereof. In place of plaster of Paris any other composition may beemployed, although gypsum is preferred as it is the lightest and mostsatisfactory floor material now cheaply purchasable, and thisconstruction is such that it is structurally available although it doesnot possess the strength of Portland cement. 7

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist ofthis invention that others can by applying current knowledge readilyadapt it for various applications without omitting certain featuresthat, from the standpoint of the prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention,and therefore such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalency of thefollowing claims. v

A distinct advantage of this construction lies in the fact that althoughplaster of.

Paris does not possess the high compressive strength of Portland cement,nevertheless, it does have a considerable compress1ve strength whichexercises a valuable function in supporting loads and which enterspermanently into action in bracing the compression members 17againstlateral deflection. Consequently the relatively thin or narrowelements will suffice by reason of the cooperation of the plaster ofParis which prevents any buckling thereof.

Having thus revealed this invention, I claim as new and desire to securethe following combinations of steps and elements, or equivalentsthereof, by Letters Patent of the United States 1. A floor structurecombining a plurality of girders spaced apart to form an end-bay, and anumber of intermediate bays, a series of spaced compression membersinterposed between the girders of the end-bay and bearing against theoutermost girder at or adj acent the upper flange thereof for resistingthe overturning of said girder, a series of tension cables attached tothe outermost girder of the end-bay and extending successively over theintermediate girders, means located at and intermediate of each bay forbearing down on the loops of said cables, and a cementitious fireresisting matrix embedding all of said elements and forming the Y bodyof the floor. I q

2. A floor structure combining a plurality of girders spaced apart toform an end-bay, and a number of intermediate bays, a series of spacedcompression members interposed and terminating between the girders ofonly the end-bay, the ends of said members engaging the girderssubstantially at their upper flanges, a series of tension twistedwiresattached to the outermost girder of the end-bay and extendingsuccessively over the intermediate girders, means located at andintermediate of each bay for bearing down on the loops of. saidtwisted-wires, and a matrix of plaster of Paris embedding all of 1slaidelements and forming the body of the oor.

3. A'fioor structure combining a plurality of girders spaced apart toform an end-bay and a number of intermediate bays; a series of spacedstraight compression members interposed' and terminating between thegirders of only the end-bay, the ends of said members being spaced awayfrom the lower flanges of said girders; a series of tensionedtwisted-wires attached to the outermost girder of the end-bay andextending successively over the'intermediate girders; means located atan intermediate point of each bay for bearing down on the loops of saidtwisted wires; and a matrix of plaster of Paris embedding all of saidelements and forming the body of the floor.

4. A fioorstructure combining a series of girders spaced to form anend-bay and a number of intermediate bays ;"a plurality of struts spacedlaterally between the girders of the end-bay and positioned closelyadjacent the upper edges of said girders and wedged therebetween; aseries of spaced tensioned twisted-wires secured to the upper edge ofthe outermost girder and extending successively over the upper edges ofthe intermediate girders; means applied to an intermediate point of eachloop drawing said twisted-wires taut in each bay; and a matrix ofplaster of Paris embedding said elements and forming the body of thefloor structure.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name, as attested by the twosubscribing Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each,by addressing the Commissions? of Patents,

I Washington, D. C.

